Marketing is an important piece of growing your VA business.
So when the effort you put into it doesn’t give you the returns you are looking for, it can be frustrating.
Maybe the timing is wrong, maybe your strategy is wrong, or maybe it’s something else all together.
Are you making these mistakes with your marketing?
‘All or Nothing’ Marketing
Do you market your VA business consistently, or do you pop in and pop out when you ‘need clients’ or ‘have time’? Although it can sometimes be difficult to schedule time to market our own business, it’s essential to keep a presence out there at all times.
What if the perfect client is looking for you, and they can’t find you?
Marketing only when you need clients, or when you have time is never going to yield you the results you need to consistently grow your business. If you know that you have ebbs and flows in your month, manage your marketing schedule strategically. Get help if you can, and keep your message out there regularly.
Focusing on You Instead of on Them
Look at your marketing message. Does it talk about how great you are and all of the great things you know how to do? If it does, then your potential clients probably aren’t resonating with it at all.
Read your stuff now.
If you are letting everyone know that they should work with a VA because they don’t have to pay health benefits, that is your first clue that you need to revise your message. Potential clients buy what they need – which is service and support. Talk to them about how you can help their business. Trust me, they’ll listen!
Marketing to Everyone
Talking to the world in general about what you do is a great idea, but not in marketing. Marketing is a strategic way to connect with people who you can work with.
Choose a specific target of people to market to, and speak only to them.
As a service professional you can perhaps help a variety of businesses, but you will get clients faster when the message you put out there is very specific. Your clients will hear you more clearly, and they will respond. You just need to tell them how specifically you can help them with their business.
Talking In ‘Industry Speak’
One of the mistakes I see VAs make often is to talk in a language that other VAs would understand – this is what I call ‘industry speak’. Remember that your potential clients are not VAs, so using language and terminology that they might not understand could make them avoid working with you – if they think you can’t communicate with them.
Use the words that your clients use when describing your services.
Try not to get too ‘techy’ – save that for your colleagues. And speak to your clients in a way that lets them know that you understand what they do, and that you can support them.
If you are making any of these mistakes, correct them and see how different it looks.
Read your website not as a VA, but as a potential client. Can they understand clearly how you can help them? If you’re reading your website, would you hire you?
The main objective of marketing is to be heard and understood by your potential clients – so check what you have ‘out there’ and be sure you are speaking to them, and telling them what they need to hear to work with you.
Click here for many more tips on how to market your Virtual Assistant business.